Alpha 19 Progression

[Jaron105]

I've been enjoying alpha 19 a ton, using weapons in the past I had ignored like the blunderbuss or stone slege; however I feel there are some issues hindering the progression from feeling how it should. 

Quality for example is a big thing I've noticed that affects things probably more than it should. Firstly, it seems fairly easy to find level 5/6 quality items once you pass the gamestage threshold for the next tier, making it feel awkward when you can finally find a tactical rifle or pump shotgun and your lower tier weapon has more quality and similar or higher damage AND more mod slots. I found a full set of level 6 padded cloth armor by day 10 for example, and when i finally started finding military armor from the trader/loot I could gain maybe 1-2 armor, lose mod slots, and mobility penalty, which just doesn't seem worthwhile.

Ammo abundance feels really high. Like really really high. I heard they even nerfed it since the streamer weekend, but still by the 7th night horde i had 3 stacks of 9mm ammo, 2.5 stacks of 7.62 and almost 2 stacks of shotgun shells, not even counting blunderbuss ammo. It feels like last patch I had to be conservative and choose when to use ammo, and in Alpha 19 I can basically use ammo on most encounters after the first 2 or 3 days and still have more than enough, making melee feel weaker in comparison. Reinforced chests having 50+ shots so early in the game, and quest rewards giving 200! shots for day 1 quest rewards feels extremely high.

Zombie block damage

In the past I would have to make a semi complex base for the first 7th horde and the 14th night, and then a much bigger/complicated one from then on. But this alpha feels like that zombies don't really do much damage. I've just stood on top of a square of flagstone the first two horde nights then cement the next and they barely did any damage to it, killing one or two blocks max. Even when it isn't horde night, watching zombies try to destroy doors and hitting them for two damage is a bit strange. 

Tiers

Overall, I'm happy with tier 0 and tier 1 loot; but before I even got to tier 2 loot I had found the schematic for Desert Vulture and Sniper Rifle and crafted level 5 of both, meaning that the Marksman Rifle and .44 magnum were basically irrelevant before I could reliably get them. Steel tools drain more stamina than stone, so I often found myself using stone at about the same speed, also making steel feel pretty underwhelming.

I know everyone and their mother are making threads with their personal experience and their own suggestions, but I just figured I'd toss my two cents in as well. I know some of the progression is also geared towards next patch with more specials and bandits, but I still feel like the overall feel of it can be improved by making higher quality more rare and reducing ammo abundance. Feels very unusual having what would take days of mining gunpowder  in past updates just found naturally or through quest rewards. A larger difference between tier 1-2 would help, as would maybe making tier 3 schematics more rare earlier in the game.